2025 draft report: Why did Flag lock in the No. 1 pick in advance?

San Antonio, in the Alamo Stadium, all fans held their breath and concentrated. With Duke player Cooper Flag hitting the board with a sharp mid-range fall from the last attack, the University of Houston achieved its long-cherished wish to reach the Finals for the first time in 41 years. And Cooper Flag's crazy March road came to an abrupt end. He gave up the opportunity to interview after the game and chose to digest it with silence, which may be his biggest regret so far.

Returned his sight to the entire season, and the Naismith Award, John Wooden Award, the Associated Press Best Player Award, etc., which symbolize the best player in the United States, were all included in the lottery by Duke University's freshman striker and No. 1 pick Cooper Flag, making him another freshman who won the Grand Slam after Anthony Davis. However, due to the controversial whistle and the missed finale, Duke, where he works, was eliminated by Houston in the final quarter with an incredible defensive reversal. In the last 10 minutes of the second half, only Flag won a sports goal. For him, this has to be said to be a valuable lesson. In this game, Cooper Flag made 8 of 9 shots, 3 of 4 three-pointers and 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, almost taking Houston away with Koniper. However, the controversial foul and final mistake at the last moment made this game that was originally enough to turn him into a permanent regret instantly.

Turn your eyes to Dallas, also in Texas. At that time, fans were still desperate about Irving's ACL, Doncic's shocking trade and overdrawing the draft picks that will be in the future for many years. In particular, the first move of trading off the prospective MVP players trained by their team made angry fans accusing management and managers of almost death threats. But the moment San Antonio got the second pick, Dallas was not named, which made the entire city boil again.

This year, the Dallas Mavericks won the No. 1 pick with a 1.8% probability, the fourth lowest among 14 lottery teams and the lowest ever since the lottery restructuring. At the moment he won the No. 1 pick, Mark Cuban was so excited that he shouted like a child. After despair, Flagg's arrival has regained hope in Dallas. Dallas fans also temporarily forgot the pain of losing Doncic because of Flag.

After both sides experienced a similar season from full of confidence to sudden death, the white guy, who is regarded as the next Captain America, is about to log in to his loyal (temporary) Dallas. Perhaps, this is the beginning of his new legend in Dallas.

1. Player profile

Cooper Flagg

Birthday: December 21, 2006

Height: 6-foot-9 (206cm)

Weight: 225 pounds (102kg)

University: Duke University Blue Devils

High School: NokomisRegional

Montward Academy

Honor: 2024-25 ACC League's Best Defensive Team First Team

2024-25 ACC League's Best Rookie Team First Team

2024-25 ACC League Best Team 1, 2024-25 ACC League Best Rookie

2024-25 ACC League MVP

2024-25 NCAA Championship Best Team 1, 2}

Associated Press Best Player in the United States

Nasmith Best Player in the United States

John Wooden Award (Best Player in the United States)

2024-25 Julius Irving Award (Best Small Forward in the United States)

2024-25 John Wooden Award (Best Small Forward in the United States)

2024-25 John Wooden Award 1, 2}

2024-25 John Wooden Award 1, 2}

2024-25 John Wooden Award 1, 2}

}

Key data:

Player efficiency value (PER) 30.4, No. 5 in the NCAA, No. 1 in the ACC League

WinShare: 8.4, No. 2 in the NCAA, No. 1 in the ACC League

BPM16.3, No. 1 in the NCAA, No. 1 in the ACC League

Region:

35 wins and 4 losses, No. 2 in the ACC League

}

ACC Championship champion

leads the team to the final quarterfinals

template: Jason Tatum (offensive weakened version)/Leonard (offensive and defensive minus, organization plus)/Andre Kirilenko (offensive organization optimization, block weakened)/Scotty Pippen (modern version)

The style of play is comprehensive; the independent attack is average; the natural leader; the defensive organization core; the organization forward; the vision is broad

2. Style analysis

At Duke University, the 4-out-1-in on the offensive end and the hard delay + replacement of the defense doping are the main themes of this year. Among them, Flag played an important axis role and showed his all-round skills. This year, his data exceeded the average level in the United States, and this is the only No. 1 pick since the OND era. Average of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, 1.9 fouls and 2.1 turnovers can be said to be without dead ends; and the height of the naked foot 203, the wingspan of 213 and the dynamic performance of the front line make him the leader in this physical test. However, his hesitation and the sudden start-up breakthrough of changing directions have already taken a certain prototype:

The most classic thing is the sudden start in the picture below, relying on a large stride to blast North Carolina's outside first defender Drake Powell:

But I have to admit that Flag still needs to polish and grow in ball control, especially when he dribbles more than three times, and even when preparing to dribble, he did not give people a sense of stability of "holding the hand" when he was preparing to dribble. We can see in the example above, in many cases, his first dribble is either not tight enough or fast enough, or he is unable to create dribble space to respond to the movement of the defender. His second step is even more disaster-like. It is difficult to skillfully change directions or accelerate and slow down during confrontation. Instead, he relies on defense to stabilize the body and the direction of breakthrough as much as possible, rather than manipulating defense and actively creating variables. As a result, he is easily stopped when breaking through the defender, and his solution to this is just to use turning around to complete the change of direction. But this trick rarely works.

Cooper Flag has slowly honed a certain mid-range shooting this year. Although it is not efficient, his own ball-holding ability is not enough to support him to create space steadily. Many of them are extremely unstable turning back and shooting back and turning hooks, but this is also the direction he can work hard in the future. If he wants to be an alpha, then he has to be an excellent, no, top mid-range pitcher. The mid-range shots in the picture below are not uncommon this year:

There are still some similar rounds, but his poor turnover caused this breakthrough to almost end in a mistake:

Similar, he tried to turn around and eat misplaced, but the turn around and drop the ball caused his rhythm to be interrupted and he had to force a throwing shot:

What is impressive is that when he was against North Carolina, Cooper first made a fake shot with his back to assist in defense, and then faced the misplaced defender Davis, he directly used his height to make a strong shot, which reminds people of Leonard.

In addition, Cooper also consciously imitated Nowitzki, especially the King of Heaven's Golden Rooster Independence (although it is more like Jokic's turnaround, but has no sense of coordination).

In terms of pick-and-roll ball holding, Cooper's offensive range is almost dead corners. Whether it is outside or middle distance, his wingspan and body are difficult to interfere with as long as he enters the rhythm:

, but Duke is not satisfied with letting Flag only serve as the end point on the offensive end. In fact, their ambitions are greater and they hope that he will become the lubricant and axis for the team's offense. This also showed Cooper Flag's outstanding vision and selfless passing awareness. In the picture below, Cooper used his offense to attract multiple defenses. Then he found James who was empty and gave him timely assists:

And this time, he also found a 45-degree shooter and sent him a precise and large-scale transfer in time:

In addition to finding a shooter, Cooper made a ball to the empty cutter after breaking through:

, and he was also decisive in the transfer after reading the defense. The picture below is that he found the empty cutter Maruvoc as soon as he received the ball, and gave him a point pass and assisted:

{28 4}

Similar quick decisions have happened more than once:

In the case of pick-and-roll, Flag can also give Maruvoc a perfect all-connection, which also shows his excellent passing potential:

Whether it is a high-level deal, a breakthrough and pass the ball during the journey, or finding a shooter in the pick-and-roll, sending an empty inside, or practicing the 0.5s principle in motion, finding a better teammate at the first time to catch the ball, Duke successfully awakened Cooper's passing potential, making him an indispensable adhesive in the team's offense.

What Flag is most talked about is the defense he has relied on since U17:

Cooper's broken cap data shows everything. Average of 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game is a very good result, but he cannot interpret Flag's full defensive deterrence. He is not the kind of biting mad dog, but is closer to an interfering defense that uses discipline, prediction and oppressiveness to force opponents to make decisions, especially when defending alone. The 203's height is paired with 7-foot long arms and excellent athletic ability, which allows him to interfere from 1 to 4 when changing defenses, and even those thin No. 5 positions can handle it. And if some defenders do not rely on cover, it will be difficult for them to get rid of him.

And he can even make guest appearances in the inside, whether it is to switch to the big guy:

or low-level cooperative protective frame damage breakthrough:

Cooper is doing it with ease.

And an excellent broken cap is inseparable from Cooper's keen prediction and excellent hand-eye coordination. He can press the ball holder when his opponent attacks, shrink the basket in time to complete the defensive rotation, almost everywhere, sweep around and actively. You can hardly see his defensive loss and rarely pay meaningless fouls. As long as his size advantage is, he can tightly hold his feet and stick to prevent interference. Even if he was killed, he could still chase and defend as closely as the picture below, waiting for an opportunity to interfere with the blocking:

There are also similar rounds

He is Duke's second blocking hand and the first assisting hand. The check of missing and missing is almost engraved in his DNA..

From non-league events to the ACC league civil war, Flag made an incredible leap in scoring efficiency. After entering the league civil war, his three-point shooting percentage still rose by nearly 23%, while his two-point shooting percentage increased by more than 8%. As of now, he is a qualified catch pitcher, and the progress of the projection mechanism is visible to the naked eye - his arc has become more stable, and the force from his toes to his fingertips is also smooth and without obvious pauses. When shooting at a fixed point, Flag prefers to move to the left, and according to theringer data, his three-point shooting percentage can jump to 43.2% under the method. This is good news for Flag's off-ball and space-pulling ability. Although his non-dunk finishing efficiency is not high in the inside and his overall shooting is also stiff, Cooper also has good training value in terms of fixed-point shooting and external contact. Imagine that the Mavericks have a comprehensive front line that can shoot after receiving the ball from the outside, attack closeout and pass and deal cards, which will definitely optimize the team's offense to the greatest extent. His sense of space and selfless play are the lubricants that the Mavericks desire today. And Anthony Davis can be safely covered under Flagla's space. Flag and his pick-and-roll and feed the inside after the outside are all great. He is the best-performing freshman striker in this year's reading& reaction, no doubt.

Independent attack will still be Flag's lifeline at the moment. His three-legged three-threat connection step breakthrough layup and turning back shot are not considered stable killer moves. It is far less comfortable to rely on his physique and size to create space for defense and then make stable moves. He also lacks the solid dribbling and offensive footwork like Leonard and Butler, with few changes and mechanical changes, and also a soft finishing touch. But these have been criticized during the growth of these predecessors. He needs to work hard to improve in this regard. The Mavericks on the defensive end need to be better positioned as Cooper Flag. In theory, a team with Davis, Flag, Lefley and Washington is difficult to suffer in size and confrontation, while Lefley and Davis have a high overlap in frame protection and defense replacement, resulting in the two being able to only protect the frame on the defensive end, but it is even more difficult to deal with the blast of the small man on the outside when both towers are present. Flag's arrival will not improve the POA effect on the outside guards, and it will be difficult for him to switch to small men for a long time. However, his defensive commander positioning is very consistent with Kidd's taste. As a supporting defense, he can step on the step and delay the breakthrough hand while defending the pick-and-roll, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the pass. Although his single defense and ball-free defense will not cause a lot of physical confrontation and fierce fouls, he has done a good job in grasping the scale of interference, and can actively interfere and avoid fouls as much as possible. He would communicate loudly on the court, keep calm, and direct his teammates to switch defenses and rotate defenses. Undoubtedly, he can allow Kidd to make arrangements better on the defensive end. His next topic is how to allocate physical fitness more scientifically, and how to be more aggressive and confrontational on the defensive end.

But no matter what, for the Dallas Mavericks, Flagg's arrival ultimately brought fans a different kind of expectations.

"This is an exciting moment, and the team can finally breathe a breath of fresh air." Mavericks president Rick Weltz admitted in an interview, "You really think this will be the beginning of a new era."

(text/Yellow Hasta)